LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) -- Zaven Yaralian calls his players swamp dogs. And that's the way the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator wants them playing -- like feral beasts protecting their territory, attacking their prey, mauling adversaries.

	The Saints defense will have to play with Joe Johnson who is out with a knee injury.

"We're not going to break the rules. We're not going to be a team that leads the NFL in penalties," Yaralian said. "But we're going to be a team that plays aggressive within the rules. We're not going to take any crap from anybody. We can't let an offense dictate what they're going to do to us."

Despite five straight losing seasons and back-to-back 6-10 records, the Saints' defense has been the strength of the team. If statistics did not reflect that last season, that could be because ot the excessive time the defense spent on the field while the offense went three-downs and out.

"I think this defense played a lot better than the record or the stats show," said safety Willie Clay, a free agent brought in to beef up the secondary. "And these guys are really hungry this year. They want some recognition and they know that's something nice guys don't get."

Call them hungry, call them belligerent, call them merciless -- please. But don't call them nice guys once the game starts.

"We want them to be nasty," Yaralian said. "We want them flying around and making people pay for trying to come into our territory."

The Saints showed signs of that in their first exhibition game, holding the Dolphins' first team to 10 yards and quarterback Dan Marino to one completion.

Although the second and third group did not play as well, especially when it came to tackling, Yaralian believes New Orleans is stronger this year in all areas.

"We're ahead of last year at this time because last year we had a lot of young kids and we had a lot of missed communication," he said. "That's what we wanted to cut down more than anything else."

Maturity at linebacker and in the secondary has been apparent in training camp. The Saints not only signed Clay, a Pro Bowl alternate for the past two years, they added Ashley Ambrose at cornerback.

"The experience those guys bring is going to make us all better," said safety Sammy Knight. "They're like having extra coaches on the sideline."

The defensive line, the strength of the defense last year when it had 26 of the Saints' 48 sacks, should also be improved.

Although defensive end Joe Johnson, selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time last year, has been unable to work in training camp, team officials are certain he'll be at full force for the season.

"It's more a precaution than anything, holding him out," said defensive line coach Walt Corey. "We've got a good, solid group on the line and we want to make sure we have that when the games that count roll around."

Because of that, Wayne Martin, an 11-year pro whose three sacks last season were the lowest he's made since his rookie season, has worked just once a day in training camp after undergoing offseason surgery on both knees.

"I feel good," Martin said. "Last year I started hurting in training camp and it just got worse all season. This year I feel like a rookie again. I'm ready to go."

With improvement in personnel, solid conditioning, and competition for jobs in most areas, Yaralian said it's now as much a matter of attitude as learning the job.

"We've got to come together," he said. "First of all, I want them to play together and have the attitude of playing aggressive football. That's got to be our style of football.